Creating a Great Call Center Experience for Your Business

Every time a business interacts with an individual – accountholders, customers and prospects – there is an opportunity to strengthen the brand and develop lasting positive relationships. This includes everything from conversations with salespeople, to the online checkout process, to contacting a call center for support.

Without an effective customer service strategy in place, consumers can become frustrated and take their business to a competitor. Since your customer service team helps stakeholders on a daily basis, it is smart to use call center outsourcing to ensure your strategy is professionally managed at all times.

When customers contact your call center, they expect to speak to a representative that is able to help navigate an issue and/or provide accurate information about your products or services. Creating a great call center experience builds trust between your business and its customers.

Unfortunately, there are too many businesses that undervalue customer service. By focusing on your customers’ needs, you create brand loyalty and trust. Understanding the characteristics of a good call center and how to leverage outsourcing to achieve your goals will help your business reach new heights.

What Makes a Good Call Center?

A good call center does more than just answer inbound calls. In addition to ensuring customers are able to talk to a live representative, call centers also help resolve issues, give information, and provide new sales opportunities for an organization. It is the key component in your customer service strategy and can be a big factor in the success or failure of your company.

Here are some characteristics that all good call centers have in common:

Services to support your business – When you think of a call center, you may picture rows and rows of phones and operators receiving calls and passing on information. However, it is important to ensure that your call center has all of the services that you need. This includes technical support, lead generation, follow-up surveys, and more.

High levels of service at all times – Without operators that are knowledgeable and have the resources needed to help every caller, your call center will fail. According to Huffington Post, research by thinkJar shows that “84% of consumers are frustrated when [a call center agent] does not have information. Additionally, thinkJar reports “13% [of consumers] tell 15 or more people if they’re unhappy.” Good call centers focus on the overall customer experience and ensure callers’ needs are met every time.

Availability to help every customer – While it is not feasible to have someone in charge of the phones 24/7 in your office to answer calls, working with a call center service ensures your customers can get their questions answered at any time. Being able to consistently help your callers allows you to increase brand loyalty and enhance the reputation of your business.

As your company works to improve customer service, it is important to have a list of goals and features you want in place. Call center outsourcing gives you the opportunity to work with professional organizations that will take your operation to the next level.

The Importance of Customer Service

Before exploring the benefits of outsourcing, it is first necessary to understand why so much emphasis must be placed on customer service. Often the only direct interaction a customer has with your business is when he or she needs assistance. This is especially the case for e-commerce companies that do not have physical retail locations.

The Houston Chronicle puts this in perspective, stating “it would be difficult for a company to survive without customer service, as there would be no one available to handle payments or answer questions from prospective customers.”

Seeing as an individual or business client can spend upwards of thousands of dollars each year on your products and services, it is essential to have a strategy in place to provide support and build relationships. Failing to do so can have a lasting negative effect, resulting in lost sales.

If all other variables are equal between two companies, it is easy to see that a potential customer will go out of his or her way to do business with the one that puts more effort into customer service. This doesn’t necessarily mean your company needs to offer constant sales or coupons to win business.

In order to make a difference with your customer service strategy, develop a program that gives call center agents, retail personnel, and every member of your staff the resources and empowerment needed to be problem solvers. They will be able to address customer issues and complaints in a way that creates a positive experience no matter the outcome. As a result, you can secure repeat business from customers, and word-of-mouth advertising gives you a free way to separate yourself from the competition.

Should you dedicate space and resources in your primary office to bolster customer service or outsource call center duties to an established organization? Working with professionals in an outsourced call center puts a team on your side to solidify your approach to customer service. Explore the ways outsourcing will benefit your business and create the experience you want for your customers.

Reasons to Outsource Your Call Center

As you continue to grow your business, you will need to dedicate resources to the continued development of new products and services. Outsourcing your call center can help you achieve these goals by delivering benefits that boost the customer experience and drive revenue. Here are some of the reasons to outsource your call center:

Non-Traditional Hours – When a customer needs assistance, he or she expects to talk to a representative. There is nothing worse than dealing with something urgent and hearing “Sorry, we are currently closed.” An outsourced call center allows your customers to contact someone in real time whenever they need to.

Cost Savings – In addition to saving money on personnel costs by outsourcing, you also reduce the amount of money spent on equipment. Your business is able to save a considerable amount when it comes to the technology needed to answer and process all of the incoming and outgoing calls. At the same time, the organization you contract with is responsible for training the representatives and ensuring they provide the service that meets your expectations.

Global Support – Let’s face it. It is impossible to provide customer service for consumers around the world without the help of a global call center. On top of being able to help callers day and night, outsourced call centers can also provide support in multiple languages. This is a necessity for companies that have products that reach the global marketplace. Having call center representatives that can provide support in a caller’s native language shows effort and enhances the overall customer experience.

At the end of the day, your goal as a business owner is to retain customers and attract new ones. Call center outsourcing is a valuable tool that can be used for all purposes relating to customer service. As you work to strengthen your relationship with customers and improve your standing in your industry, you must start by having top-tier customer service at all times.

By researching the benefits of outsourcing and creating a list of goals for your company, you will be able to find a partner that delivers short-term benefits, while also setting your team up for long-term success.

To learn more about outsourcing a call center and see all of the services offered, as well as specific solutions and best practices for your industry, contact a representative at Datamark by phone today at (915) 778-1944.